Water pipe repairs completed, but problems remain in Worcester system

Wednesday

Nov 14, 2012 at 6:00 AMNov 14, 2012 at 12:36 PM

By Jacqueline Reis and Linda Bock TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

College students used port-a-potties, dogs drank bottled water and people in search of coffee soldiered on despite drowsiness yesterday after a water main break gushing millions of gallons of water caused the city to temporarily shut down its water supply.

The repairs were done by about 4 a.m., but the city remains under a boil water order until tests show the water is safe.

The break in the 30-inch main on Chandler Street in front of Worcester State University closed the college Monday and yesterday and altered daily routines.

While the entire city water system was shut down, not everyone lost water. Many of those who did seemed to shrug it off. They figured losing water for several hours was better than losing power for days as they did last year. Children in the vicinity went to see the flood Monday and enjoyed a delayed start to school yesterday.

“The water was really high. I couldn't ride my bike through it,” said 10-year-old Conor Matthews.

“I had to have a bath that was really short,” said his 8-year-old sister Kate, referring not to how long she was in the tub but to how high the water was.

One of their neighbors on Hunthurst Circle, Kym Rutkiewicz, praised the city for getting the word out about the break and repairs. A third neighbor, Linda Tozzi, was giving her dog Max nothing but bottled water.

Some residents said their water appeared to be clear already, but public health officials cautioned people to boil it even if they never lost water pressure. In addition to boiling tap water for drinking, cooking or brushing their teeth, people should take short showers with anti-bacterial soap instead of baths. Residents should also discard ice cubes made from automatic machines or tap water. UPDATE: THE WATER BOIL ORDER FOR WORCESTER WAS LIFTED AT NOON ON WEDNESDAY

Water quality sampling was begun early yesterday afternoon with lab results expected this morning. The results will guide Mass Department of Environmental Protection's decision on whether lift the boil water order, according to the city.

If water were contaminated with coliform bacteria, symptoms would not show up for 72 hours and would include cramping and diarrhea.

“I think we should all be suspicious of the water until we get the green light,” said Dr. Michael P. Hirsh, acting commissioner of the city's Division of Public Health.

Joseph M. Ferson, spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection, said public officials should have the results of the first round of testing by noon today. Mr. Ferson said usually there must be two consecutive rounds of clean testing before the boil order is lifted.

Worcester public schools will be in session today and parents are asked, if they have bottled water at home, to send some to school with their children. Free water, provided by Polar Beverages, will be available with lunch.

Besides Worcester, the break disrupted the water supply to the Elm Hill Water District in Auburn, Century Drive corporate park and the Worcester County Jail and House of Correction in West Boylston, and the Millbury Industrial Park.

Several other Worcester water customers were able to avoid being affected. Holden used its own water sources. The Woodland Water District in Auburn was supplied by the Auburn Water District and Paxton ceased pumping water from the city and was using water held in its storage tanks.

The work in front of Worcester State continued yesterday with crews backfilling the hole around the repaired water main. The main itself, a cast-iron pipe from 1932, was about “midlife,” according to Department of Public Works and Parks Commissioner Robert L. Moylan Jr. “It's not in the geriatric ward yet,” he said, noting that the city's oldest pipes are from the mid 1800s.

He does not know what caused the break. “Cast iron is very, very tough material, but the one thing it doesn't do well is it doesn't bend,” Mr. Moylan said. “If you put too much pressure on it to make it bend, it will just snap. It looks like that happened, but what caused that force on it, we don't really know.”

Two gate valves, guillotine-like devices that close or open pipes, did not work near the broken main Monday, Mr. Moylan said. Later, one worked and another worked three-quarters of the way, he said, but the water could not be restored until the main was fixed.

Yesterday's repairs did not include any new valves, but the city has been working on a plan to test the existing ones, Mr. Moylan said. The trouble in the past has been that they were unpredictable, so a simple test could cause a valve to break in the open or closed position. “Unless you have a really good contingency plan, you're better off leaving it alone,” he said.

The plan under development would let the city test valves without causing a calamity, but it will not be fully vetted and implemented for another six to nine months, Mr. Moylan said.

Water main breaks are particularly problematic in the Tatnuck neighborhood, which Mr. Moylan described as the “central nervous system” of the city's water lines.

“All the water, essentially, flows through the Tatnuck Square area,” he said.

It was too early to say how much the break will cost for the city, or for Worcester State, where floodwaters entered the 95,000-square-foot Ghosh Science and Technology Building. The university sent students home, including those who live on campus. Yesterday, the Ghosh building was dry and had been sanitized twice.

Colleges that kept students on campus faced other challenges, like how to flush toilets. Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Assumption College brought in portable toilets, and both delayed their opening yesterday. At WPI, the port-a-potties were followed by a team of plumbers for the dorms. The bathrooms were back to normal by yesterday afternoon, said William P. Spratt, director of facilities operations at the university.